Guerro Negro to La Paz

For June 17
So...relieved for the moment we drive to the other side of Guerro Negro, have a nice dinner at a family-owned restaurant then choose a motel that looks to be modest but pleasant.  Larry goes in to register and comes out chuckling: the on duty manager is from South Carolina...no language problem here.

Colorful headboard

Just outside our room

Again, we are so tired we perform only the basic necessities of hygiene and drop into bed...and are immediately asleep. I'd like to point out here that although the temeratures hovered around 105 throughout the day it is now down in the 60's and I am personally happy for a heavy comforter.

View from our room

The next morning as we are packing the car once again we meet a family of real live hippies. They live in Texas but own beach front property south of here on which they've parked an RV. The dad is a fireman and manages to accumulate long periods of time off which they spend here in Mexico. They are a charming family with two young children, very bright and well spoken. They loved Buddi and asked many questions about her: where did she come from, how old was she, did she lay eggs, have babies, etc.

This last day of our trip is uneventful but not uninteresting. The landscape changes hourly. We continue to follow Mexican 1 as it meanders back towards the Pacific, then on to Loreto and over some of the highest peaks and daunting curves of this trip. I look down from the top of one such peak and laugh out loud at the mental picture of roadrunner beep-beeping his way down the mountain.

Beautiful color

Uh, a little help here!

In Mulege we stop at a convenience store for cold drinks and a snack of yummy Mexican cookies...and the required restroom break! One the way to the bano I pass under this pretty tree. Buddi, waiting in the car, informs us loudly that the large not-a-bird thing in the truck next to us is threatening her; I tell her, not to worry, he just wants to be amigos!

Bahia de la Paz

After a long stretch of fairly flat land we see the Sea of Cortez off to our left, then Bahia de la Paz, and finally La Paz itself.

Welcome to La Paz!

A quick stop at Bandidtos for dinner (with Buddi in tow) then on to the boat. Milagro looks beautiful with shiny newly refinished teak and new upholstery. Soooo good to be here, home at last.

Sunrise...Sunset

Sun up.....

to sun down.

Bits and pieces

We've been working on my "immigration problem" and it looks as though I will probably not be forcibly removed from the country. I have been very bad, very bad! I was supposed to have turned in my FM3 visa before departing the country last May. I may be punished with a hefty fine before procuring a new visa, or, if our friends at Eco Naviera are successful, I may be able to plead...uh, not gonna tell you that as it is a wee bit of a fib if not an outright lie. So I may be getting a 6 months visa then apply for an FM3 (which  allows one to leave and re-enter Mexico with relative ease.)

In the meantime, Larry's been practicing eye-splicing as he will soon be extending the halyard controlling Milagro's mainsail. He has installed an electric winch which will allow adjusting the mainsail without venturing out of the cockpit. It was quite a challenge reefing in the sail during the big blow we experienced in January, but the new electric winch just inside the cockpit will make that an easier, safer procedure. Here he is displaying his handiwork.
This morning, as the cruisers' net came on, there was a knock on our hull, the boaters version of ringing your doorbell. I jumped up and threw on a pair of shorts and t-shirt, thinking my new walking partner was a bit early, but Larry opened the companionway and greeted two young Mexican gents who were scheduled to clean the mast and lubricate the sail slide. As I left for my walk one of them was being hoisted upward in a bosuns chair. The work was still going on when I returned about 45 minutes later and I snapped a few pictures.
After some below decks work we headed for town, Larry to Lopez Marine and me to Mega Mart:  meat, cheese and fresh fruit and vegetables...cerveza and a nice bottle of Santo Thomas cabernet. Very American dinner tonight of steak, baked potatoes and salad.
Back on Milagro we each completed a couple of projects then stopped for a middle-of-the-day movie, another good way to beat the heat.
Hoping to hear good news from Eco Naviera tomorrow.

The Baja 1000

Still June 15
No, not that Baja 1000, but the 900 plus miles we have left ahead of us before arriving in La Paz. After crossing the border we find ourselves on the "scenic" portion of Mexican 1, and I'm sure it would be scenic if it were light enough to see. We know the Pacific is out there to the west but all we can see is resort after resort. At some point we decide enough! and leave the highway for Rosarita and stop at the Hotel del Sol Inn which faces the main street. The room is very nice (the equivalent of about $40 usd) and we park Buddi, cover her for the night and take off of foot looking for food.
Rosarita might very well be Carolina Beach with restaurants, surfer shops and souvenir vendors. The difference?...all we hear is Spanish, although truthfully there are a lot of areas in N Carolina where Spanish is spoken almost exclusively. We check out a nice looking restaurant/bar across the street from our motel and decide it is too crowded and noisy. Crossing the street once again we find a taqueria with wonderful odors wafting towards us. We step up to a counter where beef, pork and shrimp are being grilled and we each order a couple of tacos, queso on harina tortilla with all the fixins for me and of course carne for Larry. We watch as they put our tacos together, then we select soft drinks (no cerveza here) and as we are trying to figure out where/how to pay for our meal an American couple comes up to us a says, "Just tell them what you had when you are ready to leave and they'll tell you how much!" Mexican honor system. This couple told us they were in town from San Diego for a conference and have eaten here several times as the food is so good. And it is.
By now it is about 10:30 according to our bodies and heaven only know what time zone we are in, so back in the motel it's tooth brushing and contact lens removal and lights out.

June 16
This morning we are back on the scenic highway. Too bad the day is overcast and the view hazy as there might be spectacular views of the Pacific. I snap a few pictures but can tell at first glance they are now worthy of the scenery we are passing. Also, my camera battery is very low and I won't be able to charge it until we stop again. We see magnificent, almost palatial, homes both on the water and on the hills to the east.The ocean is rough with waves crashing on the shore and I understand this is quite a surfing spot. As we go through Ensenada a street vendor selling small green parrots freaks out when he sees Buddi: "Cuanto, cuanto," he asks. "No para la venta!" we reply. He grins broadly and gives us a thumbs up.

Santo Thomas Winery

I love watching this world go by: ocean on one side, then as we move east across the Baja we find miles of desert interspersed with bright green as irrigation allows the growing of corn, cabbage, strawberries and grapes for wine.
The highway is much improved in the past two years with only occasional stretches of construction. The landscape varies: desert, desert with skinny, hairy cacti, mountains, giant rocks, a glimpse of blue water, then back to sagebrush and sand. As we approach Catavina I glance at my watch. Rats! way to early to stop for the night. There, amid giant boulders, is the Desert Inn, an absolutely gorgeous resort that is so remote they use generators - yet still have every amenity, including a first class restaurant. We stayed there on another trip and thoroughly enjoyed a bit of luxury after a few iffy overnight lodgings. But alas, we will drive on by this time.
 By now we realize our gas gauge is moving to the quarter tank mark and remember-albeit a bit late - that we are in the middle of a long dry spell as far as Pemex stations go. We both watch the needle go down as we go through tiny villages that have no fuel station. As the needle closes in on E we see a Pemex station up ahead...closed; but an enterprising gentleman has parked a small truck with a tank full for gasoline in the parking lot of the defunct Pemex. The hand-lettered sign, GAS, is welcome indeed. I mention to Larry that I've heard these guys often have "bad" gas. He shrugs; it's not like we have a lot of choices. After giving us a little over a half a tank the man holds out his hand and Larry gives him some pesos. I ask how much and Larry says "a bargain at any price." We continue and are extremely pleased to have purchased "highway gas" as we don't come to another Pemex for many kilometers.
We realize we are approaching Guerro Negro and debate whether we should try passing through the agricultural checkpoint tonight, or wait until the morning. We put Buddi in her cage, cover her up and stop at the checkpoint. I tell Larry, "no fibbing!" and he ignores me, but the guard simply asks, "Any fruit?" "No senor" we say and we are on our way!

Crossing the border

Captain Bligh, er Larry, cracked the whip yesterday and I spent much of it organizing and and trying to make everything (I have to say it) shipshape. Nah, it was really my idea. I can be a bit of a neat freak; I can tolerate chaos just so long before my neaterizing genes kick in. Larry had spent several days installing an antenna for our new  and very much improved radio and yesterday was devoted to his latest purchase - a new and improved remote for the autopilot. We both had a good days work but I didn't get much computer time.

So, June 15

We had gotten an early start and after an absolutely beautiful drive on 94 toward Tecate and arrived at the border about mid-morning. Great! We knew all of our papers were in order and that this was supposed to be one of the "easiest" crossings.We should be in Ensenada by lunch time and then decide how far to go on before dark. Wrong.

As Larry had purchased  boat parts in the States we veered to the "Do you have something to declare?" area. Officials barely looked at our belongings or carefully prepared paperwork, but one officer had a problem with Buddi's 2 inch thick folder. We had spent many days and and many $'s in the States making sure everything was in order but this dipstick wasn't willing to okay her entry without first checking with officials in Mexico City.. I sat in a hot car with Buddi, entertaining all who went by and stopped to visit our perrico, while Larry stood in the hot office waiting for Mexico City official to call back. Around 4:30 Carlos, an officer from the immigration area, came over to me for the fourth or fifth time and (in mixed English and Spanish) told me to tell mi espousa we should "go away" for an hour as the official giving us problems would be off duty and we could just go through immigration...or we could drive to the Otay Mesa crossing, which was about an hour away, and enter Mexico there.  He was a cutie pie and I wanted to kiss him but didn't want to overstep my bounds. 

We were tired of just waiting and made the decision to go to Otay Mesa. There was no just turning around and heading back; we were now in Mexico and had to wait for someone to guide us through a gate that led to the American border and wait for an American office to permit us to drive back into the country we didn't realize we had left. We arrived at Otay Mesa at very busy crossing time and inched along slowly and hoped for the best. There were numerous lanes if one had nothing to declare and only one lane to declare. We were funneled into a large gravel parking lot with maybe 50 other vehicles, all waiting to go through customs. After a relatively short wait a young woman came up and Larry grabbed his trusty briefcase and took off with her. Buddi and I waited.

In about fifteen minutes they returned and our pretty official had us open the doors and our car top carrier and made a cursory check of our belongings. After looking at the paperwork once again and then engaging us in a conversation about the new car she had just won (bueno!), she ripped off a small green strip of paper, handed it to Larry and pointed us towards a gate. We weren't sure what had just happened but followed directions!

As we pulled up to the gate an officer/guard smiled, took the green slip, ripped off part of it and pointed to the next gate. At the next gate another officer/guard took the remaining scrap and waved us through.

Now, here's the amazing part! We are now in  Tijuana! No one has checked our passports or visas, no one has mentioned anything about Buddi although she was visible and as always vocal! This can't be right!! But we can't turn around and go back as we have clearly not entered Mexico legally. Besides that we are now in heavy traffic and not in the best part of town, to put it euphemistically; it's getting late and even with maps we are not sure what road to take to get to Ensenada, out immediate goal. Finally, for no particularly logical reason, we see a sign for Aeropuerto, whip into the lane that will take us there and get on a fairly decent road with less traffic. After several miles, just as we are beginning to think we need to stop and regroup, we see a sign leading us to Mexican 1 and Ensenda. Eureka!!

We're on our way

New Mexico, Arizona

June 14 We continue the journey. Our routine is to get up when we wake up, eat a hearty breakfast washed down with lots of coffee (I miss my own brew) repack the car and start driving. Today, through New Mexico and Arizona the mountains are becoming more rugged, and although she's been good to us so far I wonder what the strain of continual climbing will do to my Mazda Tribute. Never had an overheating problem but it's 106 outside and in one stretch we climbed nearly 4000 feet. So far so good.

Just inside the California line we begin seeing enormous sand dunes, really sand mountains. I think I can see Lawrence of Arabia leading a bunch of camels in the distance.

 As we travel towards Campo, our turn off to 94 and the Tecate border crossing, the day is hazy and mountain peaks loom in the distance, west to California and south to Mexico. In between the landscape is more of a moonscape.
 

Welcome to La Paz

We arrived tired and dusty in La Paz, not on Monday, June 18th as recorded on facebook, but on Sunday the 17th. I'm not surprised that I got the date wrong as one day seemed to melt into the next as we traveled across America and down Baja California. We passed through ten states, saw some amazing scenery along with the "backside" of a number of cities. We took I20 this time so saw many sights we had seen on a previous journey...but it really doesn't get boring.



June 11
Today we passed the 1,000 mile mark and stopped just west of Shreveport, LA. I confess that as much as I love the desert, the ocean and mountains, I adore drinking in the myriad shades of green as we drive through the deep south.
 We talked a bit about Trekker, our sailboat lost during hurricane Ike in Sabine Pass, TX, near the Louisiana/Texas border.

June 12

We crossed into Texas and prepared for the day and a half it would take us to reach the western border. Texas is, well, big...I mean BIG. There are flat lands that are so barren one expects John Wayne, or the Lone Ranger to come galloping through the sagebrush. Yet other parts of the state are green and hilly. The cowboy influence is evident throughout: Brushy Creek Cowboy Church---do you have to be a cowboy to attend or do they allow non-cowboy Episcopalians? and did the Cisco Kid come from Cisco, TX and was he someone's sidekick or did he have a sidekick and if he did what was the sidekick's name?
But I digress...spent the night near Fort Worth. What a megacity the Dallas/Fort Worth area is!

June 13

Peanut, anyone?

Stayed in Las Cruces Mexico. More mountains and more desert. May sound boring but I love the scenery. Turned over 2000 miles.

Pigeon in a pine

Buddi continues to help Larry drive. While waiting in a fast food parking lot for Larry I spotted a friend for Buddi right next to the car.

 More tomorrow...

Church...nothing else

Bye for awhile

A bit of explanation here:
I have had difficulties with internet service as we've traveled. With one exception it has been slow and intermittent at best and I have been frustrated in my attempts to upload photos, often losing an entire group of pictures as the connection was lost.
Also, it is unlikely that we will find internet service in our stopovers on the 1000 mile trek from the border to La Paz. Most of the motels we've stayed in previously are "no frills."
So I will continue to take pictures, most as we roll down the highway, and make some notes and write belated posts after we arrive on Milago.
See you later.

Across America...

Rain

Sunday the 11th ? was our first day of travel...good spirits but dreary weather. We spent the night in Meridian, MS; tired but oh so happy to be "on the road."

This one scared Buddi!

Skies are clearing...

Westward ho the wagon...

Columbia, South Carolina with friends for the weekend.  Boating and swimming and eating on Lake Murray...sooooo relaxing after the last few weeks.

Ladies take a dip while at anchor

Left Sunday noonish and traveled under clouds and lots of rain through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and into Mississippi. Spent the night in Meridian, MS near where I lived many years ago. I moved to Livingston, Alabama, home of Western Alabama University, with three children under three in 1971!! That part of the country was 50 years behind the times in the early 70's, but delightful in so many ways.

We are off in a few minutes and plan to cross  Mississippi the State and the River then on to Louisiana and stop somewhere in west Texas. All is well and we are excited to be moving back towards Mexico.
(Saw regular fuel @ 3.00 a gallon, immediately after happily paying 3.09!)

Yeaaaaaaaa!

Lift off!

Lord willin' and the creek don't rise...

Buddi's ready to go

The above is a good old North Carolina "sayin'"....and as with many old saws, apt. Larry and I are winding down, completing the final tasks necessary to make the trip back to Mexico. Buddi's paperwork is complete although it took two more trips to USDA offices and three more to our vet's. The entire staff at Avian & Exotic Animals now calls us by name, perhaps cringing just a little as we return for more copies and signatures, but mostly greeting us with, "We thought you'd already left for Mexico!" each time we trudge back into their office.
The car is packed with everything except our personal items and at this stage in our departure plans we are getting together with family for final goodbye's, my least favorite part of this journey. I once had relatives who spent 6 months in New Hampshire and 6 months in  Florida. Their modus operandi was to quietly pack up and leave without any kind of goodbye. That method annoyed other family members greatly but it seems to be a less painful way of parting with loved ones. However, we will not take the coward's way and will make time to hug necks and promise to keep in touch.
Then, if all goes well (see above title) Larry, Buddi and I will leave early Friday morning, strike out for the west coast, then cross the border into Mexico and be back aboard Milagro to begin the next adventure in a week or so.
Onward.....

Stateside fun

Garrison Keillor warms up the andience

Last evening Larry and I had an opportunity to enjoy a live Prairie Home Companion show at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, NC. Friends from South Florida invited us to join them for the taping of Garrison Keillor and the PHC crew. Unfortunately, at the last minute J & G were unable to make the trip to NC so we took our 13 and 14 year old grandchildren, giving them an experience they won't soon forget.

Jamie & Brandon waiting for the show

The day was beautiful - clear skies and moderate temperature - and we arrived at the amphitheater "early." We had lawn chair seating and the crowd was growing rapidly as we arrived, but we found a spot to the side of the stage and settled in. We had planned to get snacks there but the lines were so long we decided to dine after the show. About thirty minutes before show time Garrison Keillor came out and, with a wonderful young singer in tow, strolled among the huge crowd singing everything from Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel and chatting with the audience. At precisely 6:00 p.m. the show began and the next two hours were magical.  I have always loved listening the PHC but "watching" the radio show was such fun! The music was varied and fantastic (including an homage to recently deceased NC native "Doc" Watson) and Keillor was in his usual good storytelling form.
We all had a great time; it would have been a perfect  if J & G had shared the evening with us us. Thanks, guys...we missed you and know you would have enjoyed the show as much as we did.